Globalization of forest land use: Increasing threats on climate-vulnerable regions

Given the increasing influence of international trade on regional land use, this paper presents a comprehensive overview of forest land use across global supply chains by means of embodiment accounting based on EXIOBASE 3 database, with a specific focus on the climate vulnerability and adaptation readiness of supply chain agents. Globally, 2268.3 million hectares (Mha) of forest land was exploited for forestry in 2015, while 30% was associated with export production, mainly sourced from Russia, Canada, Africa, South America and tropical and subtropical Asia-Pacific and linked to the final consumption of developed (e.g. the EU, the USA and Japan) and emerging (e.g. China and India) economies. During 2000-2015, forest land exploited in climate-vulnerable regions rose to 689.4 Mha, contributing over 50% of the overall increase in global forest land exploitation. Forest land use displaced from China and India to these regions increased by 2.6 and 3.3 times, respectively, due to escalating imports from tropics and subtropics (especially Asia-Pacific), where the readiness to take adaptation actions was also low. For the EU and the USA, virtual forest land use sourced from these regions remained large in absolute magnitude despite decreasing import volume. Therefore, transnational mutual efforts are needed to secure local forestry of climate-vulnerable regions, improve the resilience of global supply chains and mitigate negative influence on other sustainable development goals supported by forest ecosystems.

Automated summary

Given the increasing influence of international trade on regional land use, this paper provides a comprehensive overview of global forest land use in supply chains, focusing on climate vulnerability and adaptation readiness of supply chain agents. It reveals that in 2015, 30% of forest land exploited for forestry was associated with export production, linked to the consumption of developed and emerging economies. Forest land exploitation in climate-vulnerable regions contributed over 50% of the overall increase during 2000-2015, with China and India transferring large amounts of forest land use to these regions. It emphasizes the need for transnational efforts to secure local forestry, enhance supply chain resilience, and mitigate negative impacts on sustainable development goals.